Tuesday, February 11, 2014

TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Hand Warmers

Tune in to the news
and you will hear about the spate of cold weather in the U.S. and other parts
of the world. If you are planning on being outdoors as part of your travels, a
hand warmer might be on your list of bring along items.

There are several types of hand warmers. Continue reading to see the packing
guidelines for each type:

Air Activated – These are the more common disposable types that are activated
when you open the package and expose them to air. They can be packed in both carry-on and
checked baggage.Battery Powered – Battery powered hand warmers are permitted in both carry-on and
checked baggage. Check out this post for more information on batteries.

Crystallization – This is the type that you flex or squeeze to activate. They contain
liquid and require adherence to our 3-1-1 guidelines. They can be packed in both
carry-on and checked baggage.

Lighter Fuel – These hand warmers are permitted in carry-on bags. They can be
packed in checked baggage as long as they are empty with no noticeable fuel
vapors. If they contain fuel, they must be placed in a DOT marked airtight
case. Lighter fuel by itself is prohibited all together.

31 comments:

help me to understand being able to put a lighter-fluid charged handwarmer in my carry on that is very flammable and it does not fall under the 3-1-1 rule. A knitting needle is okay; BUT a small pocket knife is the tool of a terrorist and evil person? You folks need to share what you are smoking when ya;l ante=up the clouded rules that are okay'd by general emotional consensus. To bad there is not a obfuscation event in the Olympics because those making the rules would win hands-down! AND, isn't lighter fluid a cancer-causing substance?

still waiting for an answer on why all active duty military (who do not need to even be citizens) are allowed through precheck automatically, while military retirees (who dedicated at least 20 years to our Nation) and those with active security clearance investigations (which are more thorough than your precheck BI) are not. when is someone going to answer that simple policy question???

I've never seen an air activated hand warmer that was anything but dry material -- I'm not ssaying that there are not gel or liquid ones, but the only ones I've encountered were dry chemicals. I believe you should qualify your statement about them.

the air activated hand warmers are filled with dry chemicals and fine iron powder, which when exposed to air starts to rust rapidly. this exothermic reaction produces the heat that warms your hands. there is no liquid present in the packs (although moisture from the air and your skin is important to the oxidation process).

Unbelievable. TSA won't deny the content of Jason Harrington's Politico article, but TSA has yet to apologize to the nation for irradiating innocent travelers (via backscatter scanners) and for exposing travelers' naked bodies to strangers (via the remote viewing rooms). Sure, backscatter scanners are gone, and TSA doesn't use the booths nowadays, but TSA owes travelers an apology for these past abuses.

Some of the liquid heat packs I've used become solid after use. They can be boiled and reused. Would a heat pack like this be allowed through security in the solid form? If so, why is that? It contains the exact same chemicals and amount of chemicals. It doesn't make sense that an item in a liquid state is only safe in a ziplock bag and the same item in a solid state is safe no matter how many someone has and no matter where it is placed in luggage.

That link on Drudgereport that linked to Infowars that linked to a forum post. That "article" had so much credibility, as Infowars and Drudge are well respected pillars of the community, that NEVER run unverified stories to advance their agenda.

Also weird is that both sites have taken the article off their main page, when TSA bashing articles usually stay at least 3 days on both sites.

Interesting that you've quietly corrected the post to remove the incorrect statement that air-activated hand warmers contain liquid, but have made no acknowledgement of the earlier error nor any acknowledgement thanking the commenters for pointing out the error.

Instead, it now makes the commenters statements look nonsensical and undermines their credibility. I trust that was not on purpose, was it?

To TSAnonymous from Feb 12, 5:54pm: I didn't know Drudge Report linked to the humiliated cancer survivor report. I don't read Infowars, but there were a lot of Tweets referencing that site.

So, anyway, if it is a load of hooey like you are claiming, why don't your fellow TSA employees just say so? The blotter team here has done so in the past, in the most condescending manner, but they have done it. What are they afraid of now?

Did anyone actually read what BB said about the “Air Activated Hand Warmers”? Here is the quote:“Air Activated – These are the more common disposable types that are activated when you open the package and expose them to air. They can be packed in both carry-on and checked baggage.”

Nothing in that description says anything about a liquid component. Yet I count 3 comments (out of 10) from people who didn’t read the information provided before jumping BB’s case for what turns out to be their own mistake.

To the TSAnonymous of Feb 14, 4:58pm, the blotter team edited the article in an unethical and unprofessional manner, changing the wording without indicating what had been edited. This is against any good blotter practice, especially one that accepts comments.

The flying public was commenting on the original blotter post, not what is currently seen.

Lack of transparency and accountability are two major flaws with this blotter site. Once in a while, an honest statement is made by a TSA employee, and is appreciated. Most of the time, though, its lies and obfuscation.

GSOLTSO said...Anon sez - "West? You want to pipe in for the blotter team?"

I can comment about nothing on this situation, other than there have been a ton of articles, and the original post has been deleted. I have no further info.WestTSA Blog TeamFebruary 15, 2014 at 4:57 AM

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Are you not allowed to comment? Both articles are available at Infowars.

RB sez - "Are you not allowed to comment? Both articles are available at Infowars."

At this point, there is no way to conduct an investigation into the claim. The individual that posted the original story has not come forward (as far as I know) with a complaint, no airport was indicated in the original post (that has been deleted at this time), so no investigation can be conducted. There is simply not enough information to comment past what I have already said.

GSOLTSO said...RB sez - "Are you not allowed to comment? Both articles are available at Infowars."At this point, there is no way to conduct an investigation into the claim. The individual that posted the original story has not come forward (as far as I know) with a complaint, no airport was indicated in the original post (that has been deleted at this time), so no investigation can be conducted. There is simply not enough information to comment past what I have already said.WestTSA Blog TeamFebruary 16, 2014 at 10:38 AM

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TSA doesn't care to investgate the story just like no apparent investigation was done over the lady reading a conservative paper.

The public is suppose to believe that TSA will investigate and discipline workers when needed but the facts seem to suggest that it is far easier to look the other way.

Serious Question;I use the crystallization type warmers for SCUBA diving. Once activated they contain ZERO liquid until you boil them at which point the melt back to a liquid state. I usually travel with them in the solid state. Of course, due to the xray image they get pulled. Are they or are they not allowed in carry on bags in the SOLID form?

For those that were attacking TSA for saying that there were liquid hand warmers when there are none should try researching before making fools of themselves. Try google.com or some other search engine. Two examples of liquid hand warmers are "hotspot" and "heatwave." Simply because you are not aware of something does not mean that it does not exit = you are not all-knowing.

I always find it hard to determine what is and isn't allowed through the TSA checkpoints at the airport. While traveling to the northeast during the severe weather, I was stopped and search extensively because of the hand warmers I had packed in my carry-on. The TSA agents finally let me through because the hand warmers fit their 3-1-1 guidelines. Next time I travel I will be sure to search the items before getting to the airport to make sure they are permitted so that I'm not held up again . TSA Approved